Advent, Christmas, Children - An Antidote to December Rush

The Advent Season of preparation can be stressful, and here at Saint Barnabas, we’d like to offer you an antidote. Come wait with us for the birth of Jesus.

As a prelude, why don't you join us on Monday, November 27, at 6:00 p.m. for a potluck dinner followed by a discussion time at 7:00 p.m. This is a time for parents, grandparents, relatives, and other interested adults to talk about our children & the Christmas Season. How do we help each other and our kids with the busy schedules, the 'greed factor,' the expectations, the sugar? There will be nursery care and homework help offered for our younger attendees while the adults have a time to talk.

As we have in the past, our Advent Sunday worship includes our anticipation of and preparation for Christ with the lighting of our Advent wreath and special prayers and music.

Additionally, we will have two quiet worship opportunities on Mondays at 5:30 p.m., followed by a simple supper:

• 
  On December 4, a guided meditation will be offered in the Chancel
• 
  On December 18, a silent meditation to music.

The Outreach Committee is offering resources for alternative gift giving. Look for
information in this Banner and in your bulletin leaflets the rest of the month. There are countless creative ways to give to others in honor of Jesus’ birth!

We welcome our neighbors from Falmouth and the surrounding community into our upper hall and parish house for the annual Christmas Fair, this year on December 9.

We also share "Christmas is a Birthday" buttons, a quiet form of evangelism for your lapel.

On the fourth Sunday in Advent, December 24, we’ll have just one morning service. At 10 a.m., we’ll gather for the pageant, as the children of the parish share with us the story of Jesus’ birth in lessons and carols. After the pageant, everyone is invited to the Greening of the Church; we'll help the Altar Guild transform our sanctuary from a place of waiting to a place of celebrate in honor of Christmas Eve, and share a treat.

Throughout December, come and escape from the rush as Saint Barnabas as we wait
again for the birth of Jesus!

The Community of Saints

Dear Fellow St Barnabites and others:

Today we shared in the Investiture of our new Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori. With computer and projector set up in the Chapel, we watched and worshipped along with those in the National Cathedral and elsewhere via Internet and satellite broadcast. Among our congregation present in the Chapel this morning were members of St. Barnabas, Church of the Messiah, Woods Hole, and St. Gabriel's in Marion.

You can read more about the service, view photos from the service, read the Presiding Bishop's homily and you can download the service leaflet (32 pages...) to learn more about the service and worship.


Also available online:

• Today show interview with Katharine Jefferts Schori on 3 Nov.
• Sunday Nov. 5 Sermon from National Cathedral by the new Presiding Bishop
  

More Sending & Serving (Covention Sat. Part 2)

After hearing from the parishes (see previous post), we heard a report from our brothers and sisters from the Gulf Coast. In the Diocese of Mississippi, about 199,000 homes were destroyed. Ninety-two thousand people are in FEMA housing or trailers. In New Orleans, 120,000 owner-occupied & 80,000 rental units were destroyed. As of now, 13 homeowners there have received checks to start their rebuilding. In this aftermath of Katrina, the people of faith who come to help are making a difference. The Gulf Coast is transitioning from relief to recovery efforts. This will be a long road, and one which we in Massachusetts have pledged to walk with our brothers & sisters in Mississippi and Louisiana.

One of the three speakers was a doctor who started and works in a health care clinic which has served the underprivileged in New Orleans for a number of years. They were one of the first and only health care facilities to re-open in the city after the hurricane. After 400 years of systemic injustice, our guests talked of how New Orleans will be rebuilt and will be a more inclusive, just & sustainable city.

At lunch, Andy, Ellie & Helen went to a presentation on our diocese's Jubilee Ministry and what different parishes in the diocese are doing to participate. We received a DVD with a short video that we look forward to sharing with all of you. There is so much we can do here in our parish and in our diocese to help our brothers and sisters in Africa.

After lunch, Bishop Shaw continued his presentation to Convention. We need each other to bring God's message of hope to our world. Shaw emphasized accountability. Being dependent on each other means being accountable to each other. Accountability is also a gift from the Holy Spirit. Mission strategy gives us a way to say 'yes' to what we feel called by God to do. It also gives a way to say 'no' to those things to which we are not called to do. Specifically, the Bishop sees our expansion into college ministries as part of the call of the Holy Spirit.

The Diocesan Treasurer then presented us with how we will measure progress of our mission strategy. This will allow us to gauge how effective we are being with the resources entrusted to our use. More details of the mechanics of the rubrics and metrics to be used will be presented at our diocesan gathering in March. We look to answer the question, 'Are we bearing fruit, fruit that will last?'

We also heard reports on the the Barbara C Harris Camp and the Cathedral. Did you know the Cathedral has the longest continually broadcast religious services on the radio? They have been broadcasting services since around 1930! (You can hear the broadcast on WCRB-102.5 FM early on Sunday mornings.)

Now...On to the Resolutions...

By now, many of you have read about the votes taken at Convention. If you haven't, our November Banner has a synopsis or you can read the official Diocesan report. Your delegates will be meeting to write up that portion of our experience. So stay tuned for more...